Linux Desktops

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The GNOME Desktop

Linux distributions come with one or both of two popular graphical user interfaces (GUIs): GNOME and KDE. GNOME and KDE are similar to Microsoft Windows but unique in one respect. Unlike Microsoft Windows, you can choose your GUI in Linux. If you don’t like GNOME, you can use KDE; and if you don’t like KDE, you can use GNOME. With both installed, you can switch between the two in a matter of seconds. Try doing that with Microsoft Windows!

GNOME and KDE were developed independently of Linux and run on other UNIX operating systems besides Linux. You also have the option to install other GUIs, such as FVWM and Xfce, in Linux. Visit www.freedesktop. org/wiki/Desktops to see a list of other X desktops (desktops that run on X Window System).

No matter which GUI you decide to use, all GUI applications — whether they’re based on GNOME or KDE — run on all GUI desktops. In other words, you can run KDE applications under GNOME and vice versa. The only hurdle is that sometimes both GNOME and KDE applications may not be installed by default.

Each Linux distribution typically installs one of the GUIs by default. Each distribution also customizes GNOME or KDE to create a desktop that’s unique to the distribution. Because of this, there may be subtle, minor differences between what you see in your distribution and what is described here.

Getting to Know the GNOME Desktop

The initial desktop for GNOME looks like any other popular GUI, such as Microsoft Windows or the Mac OS X desktop. Figure 1-1, for example, shows the typical GNOME desktop.

Figure 1-1: A clean GNOME desktop in Ubuntu.

Running the Live CD, a number of icons that would be present if the operating system were installed will not be there. When the system is installed, the desktop initially shows icons for your computer, your home folder, and the trash can for deleted files. (Unlike other distributions, Ubuntu strives for a minimum of desktop icons and has a clean look. Some Ubuntu versions feature no desktop icons.)

Desktop context menus

The GNOME desktop displays a context menu when you right-click a clear area on the desktop. The menu offers the following menu options:

• Create a new folder

• Create a shortcut to a command (Create Launcher)

• Create a new document

• Clean up the desktop, or align icons

• Configure the desktop background

Figure 1-2 shows the desktop context menus in a typical GNOME desktop. Desktop menu options with a right-pointing arrow have other menus that appear when you put the mouse pointer over the arrow.

Figure 1-2: Standard menu choices in GNOME.

Icon context menus

Right-clicking any desktop icon in GNOME displays another menu, as shown in Figure 1-3.

Many items on this context menu are the same no matter what icon you click, but right-clicking certain icons (for example, the Trash icon) produces a somewhat different menu. You can perform the following typical tasks from icon context menus:

• Open a folder in a file manager

• Open a file with an application that you choose

• Rename the icon

• Move the icon to trash

• View the properties of that icon

Figure 1-3: The menu choices for the Examples icon in GNOME.

For the Trash icon, the icon context menu typically provides an option to permanently delete the items in the trash. (You get a chance to say Yes or No.)

I bet you see a pattern here: the right-click. No matter where you are in a GUI desktop, always right-click before you pick. You’re bound to find something useful when you right-click!

Understanding the GNOME Panels

The GNOME desktop has two panels — the top and bottom bars. (The KDE desktop has only one panel.) Each panel is similar to the Windows taskbar. The top panel has buttons on the left (shortcuts to various programs) and a time display to the right. The middle part of the panel shows buttons for any applications you’ve started (or that were automatically started for you).

Move the mouse over any icon on the panel, and a small pop-up window displays the name of that icon. The pop-up window also gives a hint about what you can do with that icon.

The top panel

The top panel is the long bar that stretches across the top of the GNOME desktop. Figure 1-4 shows a typical view of the GNOME top panel.

Figure 1-4: The GNOME top panel.

The panel is a parking place for icons. Some icons start programs when you click them. Some show status (for example, what programs are currently running) as well as information such as date and time.

The Main Menu button

The leftmost icon on the GNOME top panel is the Main Menu button. The Main Menu button, like the Start button in Microsoft Windows, is where you typically find all your applications, organized into submenus. The term Main Menu is generic; in GNOME, the button is typically labeled Applications.

Click the Main Menu button to bring up the first-level menu. Then mouse over any menu item containing an arrow to bring up the next-level menu, and so on. You can go through a menu hierarchy and make selections from the final menu. Figure 1-5 shows the main menu hierarchy in the typical GNOME desktop.

I use the notation Applications➪Internet➪Firefox Web Browser to refer to the menu sequence highlighted in Figure 1-5.

Figure 1-5: The standard menu hierarchy on the GNOME desktop.

In most desktops, the top-level main menu has the following types of menu categories:

• Accessories: Lots of utility programs, such as a scientific calculator, a character selector, a floppy formatter, a dictionary, and a Palm Pilot or Handspring syncing software

• Games: A menu of games (and a whole lot of them at that), such as Solitaire, Mahjongg, Mines, and Reversi

• Graphics: Programs such as The GIMP (an Adobe Photoshop–like program), a digital camera interface, a scanner interface, a screen-capture program, and an Adobe Acrobat viewer

• Internet: Internet applications, such as a Web browser, e-mail reader, and instant messenger

• Office: Office applications such as the OpenOffice.org office suite (which includes the Writer word processor, Calc spreadsheet, Impress slide presentation program, and Draw drawing program)

• Sound & Video: Multimedia applications such as a CD player, a sound mixer, a sound recorder, and volume control

The main menu typically also has a few submenu items for some commonly performed tasks, such as Add/Remove Applications.

In each distribution, the main menu has different categories but a similar organization, so you can usually find what you need.

The Places Menu button

The second menu choice from the left on the GNOME top panel is the Places Menu. That’s where you typically find an easy way to get to all the locations you may need to visit, as well as access the network, search for files, and perform other common functions. Figure 1-6 shows an example of this menu.

Figure 1-6: The GNOME Places menu choices.

Of particular help is the Search for Files option, which displays the dialog box shown in Figure 1-7. You can use this option to find files based on almost any criteria — date created, changed, name, containing certain phrases, and so on. It’s worth your time to experiment with this tool and get to know it well.

Figure 1-7: The default search options can be changed through the dialog box.

The System Menu button

The third menu choice from the left on the GNOME top panel is the System Menu. This is where you typically turn to for administrative tasks. Figure 1-8 shows an example of this menu.

Figure 1-8: The standard System menu in GNOME.

The Preferences options allow you to perform such tasks as choosing your default printer, configuring power management on a laptop, and tweaking sound settings. The Administration options let you run the administrative utilities needed to see what’s going on with the system and make changes.

Other options on this menu allow you to get information about the distribution, as well as access help and support.

Top panel icons

In addition to the menu choices in the top panel, a number of icons are commonly present (refer to Figure 1-4). You can identify each of these icons by moving the cursor over them and reading the pop-up descriptions that appear. The most common ones (in the order they typically appear from left to right) are

• Firefox Web browser: Start the popular browser and access the Internet.
• Evolution Mail: Start the Evolution e-mail and calendar software.

• Help: Display online help information in a documentation viewer for GNOME.

• Network: Display information about current wired or wireless connections.

• Volume: Display a volume control bar that you can use to change the sound’s volume by dragging a slider.

• E-mail: Open your preferred e-mail reader.

• Date and time: Display the current date and time; clicking displays a calendar showing the current date.

• Talk: Allow instant messaging with fellow workers.

• OS indicator: Signify which operating system you are running.

• Logout: Change users, lock the desktop, or shut down the system.

The bottom panel

In addition to the top panel, GNOME also includes a bottom panel. Figure 1-9 shows an example of this menu. The items that appear here are

Figure 1-9: The bottom panel in GNOME.

• Show Desktop: Hide (but do not close) all windows and display the desktop.
• Open windows: Display all currently open windows.
• Active window: Switch to another running application or window.
• Workspace Switcher: Display a different workspace by clicking a square. This has the same function as the Desktop Pager in KDE desktops. Explore the three menus (Applications, Places, and System) to see the categories of tasks you can perform from the selections in these menus.
• Trash can: View or empty the contents of the trash can.

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